Helicopter Lands On Los Angeles Freeway

LOS ANGELES, CA — A helicopter made an emergency landing on the Harbor (110) Freeway in Los Angeles Thursday night, and managed to avoid hitting any vehicles. It did, however, snarl traffic around Los Angeles Airport as crews worked to remove the helicopter from the Express Lanes.

Firefighters responded to the scene near Century Boulevard shortly before 8:30 p.m., where the helicopter went down in the southbound Express Lanes, blocking traffic. The emergency landing occurred roughly two to three miles east of Los Angeles International Airport.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, there was no report of any injuries or fires associated with the downed aircraft.

The emergency landing shut down several lanes of the traffic for more than an hour.

It wasn't immediately clear who the helicopter belonged to nor whether any other vehicles on the freeway were hit by the helicopter.

Initial reports from bystanders that the chopper blades struck a bus proved to be unfounded, said Brian Humphrey, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.

The downed helicopter was reported to the California Highway Patrol at 8:24 p.m. Thursday. A SigAlert was issued at 8:41 p.m., and traffic was being diverted off the freeway onto Century Boulevard, backing up traffic around the airport.

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CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story misstated the nature of the landing. The helicopter went down in the Express Lanes with little apparent damage to the heilcopter.